Taiwan accuses China of abducting 8 Taiwanese from Kenya

Taiwan accused China Monday of kidnapping eight Taiwanese who had been cleared of criminal charges by a court in Kenya, and angrily demanded their immediate return from the mainland.

Tsai Ing-wen

The alleged abduction — described by Taiwan’s foreign ministry as “illegal” and “uncivilized” — posed a potential challenge to president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who takes office next month.

Kenyan authorities in November 2014 arrested 28 Taiwanese along with 49 other ethnic Chinese on charges of illegally entering the African state and being involved in an telecoms scam, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A first group of 37 suspects, among them 23 Taiwan citizens, was found not guilty by a Kenyan court on Tuesday last week.

But eight of the 23 Taiwanese were deported to China by Kenyan authorities last Friday due to Chinese pressure, it said. Read More